The EU is introducing stricter rules for the return of rejected asylum seekers, with the possibility of deportation to third countries and the opening of special centers. The new rules allow people from the EU to be deported to countries with which they have no connection. Families with children can also end up in the centers – as a last resort and for as short a period as possible.
The European Union is preparing for a significant tightening of its asylum policy. Apart from stricter rules, it is foreseen that rejected asylum seekers can be sent to third countries. However, there are almost no partners for this controversial legal solution for the time being.
The EU plans to increase and speed up deportations of rejected asylum seekers through three main mechanisms. First, return procedures within the Union should become more efficient through mutual recognition of negative asylum decisions, which would enable all member states to implement them.
Second, for persons who are obliged to leave the EU, a unified reduction of social benefits is foreseen if they do not cooperate with the institutions. At the same time, the maximum duration of detention for deportation will be extended.
Thirdly, politically, the way is open for the establishment of deportation centers in third countries. Rejected asylum seekers whose return cannot be realized, for example, due to rejection by their home country, could be sent there. Formal consent from member states and the European Parliament is still awaited.
The new regulation as part of the asylum reform
The return regulation is a key addition to the reform of the EU’s asylum system, which comes into full force on 12 June. In the past year, only one in four people with an obligation to leave (28 percent) actually left the EU.
“With the new rules, we are finally getting more control over the consistent application of refunds. This is what citizens expect – and we are delivering,” said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Magnus Brunner.
Armenian Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Dobrint announced that by the end of the year, together with a group of EU countries, including Austria, Denmark and Greece, he will try to reach agreements with third countries to establish such centers. For now, there are no specific decisions, but countries such as Rwanda, Libya, Mauritania, Uzbekistan and Ethiopia are mentioned.
The Netherlands has already reached an agreement with Uganda to open such a center, while Italy previously concluded a similar agreement with Albania. But soon after the first people arrived at the centers in Albania, the project was temporarily suspended due to legal obstacles.
In April, a legal opinion of the European Court of Justice found that Italian centers in Albania do not violate European law, provided that individuals are provided with legal aid, language support and contact with family and competent institutions.
Criticisms of human rights and new measures
Brigitte Sipel, representative for internal policy of the European Social Democrats, sharply criticizes the initiative, assessing that for such centers “there is no binding legal framework and thus no guarantee of protection of basic rights”. According to her, this approach is not in accordance with the German Constitution, the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and the principles of the rule of law.
The new rules allow people from the EU to be deported to countries with which they have no connection. Families with children can also end up in the centers – as a last resort and for as short a period as possible.
Much of the success of the new policy will depend on whether the regulation succeeds in encouraging non-asylum seekers to cooperate more and close legal loopholes.
In case of non-cooperation, reduction of benefits or confiscation of documents are foreseen. In addition, the maximum period of detention for deportation will be unified at 24 months, with the possibility of an additional extension of six months, especially for persons considered to be a risk to national security.
MEP Lena Dipon from the European People’s Party assesses that the new regulation gives members “practical instruments”, including clear obligations for cooperation, better use of European information systems and more effective entry bans.
Certainly, according to Sipel from the SPD, the agreement is proof that the EU is “yielding under the pressure of right-wing panic, despite the reduced number of arrivals”, which, according to her, means “a drastic deterioration of the rights of those affected, who are practically treated as criminals”.
If the European Parliament and the Council formally approve the regulation, the new rules could come into force within 18 months. The option of deportation centers in third countries can be applied even earlier – if enough states are provided ready to receive migrants.
Source: DW/ Author: Katrin Schmidt, ARD
